Revise, refresh, improve, repeat

The software development cycle is much faster than other equipment cycles – here is why it is important

Achieving and maintaining a competitive advantage in a military environment is key to maintaining superiority throughout competition, crisis, and conflict scenarios. With software systems becoming an increasingly key force multiplier for military operators, ensuring that the latest software is deployed can help enable warfighters to maintain their innovative capabilities, support greater leveraging of sensors and effectors, and improving situational awareness.

How can we make sure that the right tools are delivered to the right people at the right time?

Much of this burden falls on industry’s capability to innovate, combined with the ability to listen to users about the challenges they face and their capability development plans.

The changing relationship with IT

Information technology and its role in our lives – both in the consumer world and in military operations – has changed dramatically since the end of World War II. Communications bandwidth has dramatically increased, allowing for more data to be delivered between users. The reduced size of computers now allows more computer power, data, and technology to be operated by an increasing number of users in smaller systems.

Human-machine interface (HMI) technologies have also allowed an evolution in how we work with computer systems. Screens have moved beyond basic oscilloscopes and green and black cathode ray tubes, to rich displays on low-power LED screens and emerging technology through to augmented reality vision systems. Interactions have also changed from keyboards and knob controls, through to trackballs, mice, and touchscreens.

With all this change to the form factors and control systems that make up HMI, there is a corresponding expectation from technology users that military systems should be keeping pace with commercial systems, as well as delivering vast amounts of data with low amounts of latency in an easy-to-use interface. However, making all this work together is not as easy as it may seem.

The mechanics of it all

In implementing new and upgraded software, ensuring the hardware can meet the demand is a key factor. Finding the right time to perform system maintenance and upgrades can be difficult, particularly given the demands on fleet availability, the locations of vessels, and availability of engineering specialists to deliver a new upgrade.

According to Christoph Pauls , Business Product Manager at Systematic Defence : “We typically see the IT side of an armoured vehicle platform or subsystem going through an innovation cycle every one to two years. For the electronics side - the networking infrastructure, power interfaces, plugs, and cabling, and so on – this goes through an innovation or replacement cycle every four to six years. The mechanical componentry, which brings in new mounts and cabling, as well as other interfaces or entirely new systems, could only be really changed every 10-20 years.”

Within the maritime domain, this hardware cycle can be much longer, with vessels undergoing major refurbishments and refits at longer intervals due to the complexity of installing and integrating subsystems. Similarly, sending software updates over communications networks for ships at sea can be frustrated by narrow bandwidths, or other traffic taking priority.

As a result, software updates are best implemented when a ship is alongside. However, being less intrusive to deploy than hardware upgrades means that they can be delivered much more simply and efficiently. This helps to ensure that all subsystems are operating at their maximum efficiency, and the changing requirements of users can be realised sooner.

Listening and learning

Systematic takes advantage of many different forums to gather feedback on our platforms, and how we can improve them for future use.

“Supporting users at exercises helps us to see how they are using our platforms. This allows us to understand what their pain-points are and gives us the opportunity to think through how we can make our products better. Additionally, we can help users make sure they are deploying our software correctly, and if they may need to have more training and support. We can also adjust our training content and instructions if there are issues in how this has been created,” Stig Meyer , Domain Product Manager for Maritime, Systematic Defence business line.

Systematic also holds feedback sessions with users on a regular basis, allowing for discussions with sales, operations, and product teams to help identify future developments. User forums are also regularly held at regional and global level, where product roadmaps are discussed, and users can influence the future development of the SitaWare and IRIS suites.

Adapting and evolving to the user landscape

Meshing hardware and software together is a constant requirement for end users. As a new sensor, communications system, analysis tool, or effector is brought into the command environment, the need to integrate it with a battle management system is paramount. Reducing the need for multiple screens to operate an array of subsystems helps with the HMI between operator and system, smoothing the operational workflows for commanders and operators at all levels.

Systematic’s SitaWare suite helps to deliver this through an open-architecture design framework, with a Software Development Kit (SDK) helping to facilitate the creation of APIs to deliver data to the battle management software. Users, system manufacturers, and integrators can help with the framework delivery of data into the SitaWare interface, with Systematic also able to help with creating APIs and drivers.

Product roadmaps are also a major factor behind this, with feedback from users helping to ensure major new systems and technologies are integrated into the suite as part of the continuing evolution of the software.

SitaWare users also benefit from an acquisition model that ensures that updates and patches are delivered to users on an ongoing basis. Whereas some other companies provide a license for a single iteration of a software package, Systematic allows its users to receive updates to their software throughout their license period – giving the latest functionality and features to the userbase.

To learn more about the SitaWare suite, and our special naval product, SitaWare Maritime, visit: https://systematic.com/int/industries/defence/products/sitaware-suite/